Members of the UCSIM Team need to know when new developments or advancements in virtual worlds technologies or changes to virtual worlds and related platforms will impact our work, and one way to expand our awareness and professional networks is to connect with other users and services using social media, such as Twitter. In addition to expanding our professional networks, it's important to get system updates, notices when a service we use is having technical troubles, and alerts to other issues that may affect our virtual campuses.
Update: Team members are no longer required to create a work Twitter account if you already have a personal Twitter account, and some of the Second Life specific instructions no longer apply. However, it's good to review the general information provided below, and if you have questions about using Twitter, please see your supervisor.
What is Twitter?
If you've used Instant Messaging (IM) or Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging before, Twitter's format should be relatively familiar. You have 140 characters to send an instant message to the world and whoever is "following" you. Unlike Facebook and other social media services that require someone to confirm your connection, Twitter is not symmetrical. You can "follow" (or subscribe) to any other Twitter user, even if he or she does not follow you back. Likewise, someone can "follow" you to see your Twitter updates (known as "tweets') even if you do not follow that person back. This simple interface and simple method of communicating has created a powerful network of news and information sharing.
This video gives an overview of why Twitter is useful, and although it describes use from a personal use perspective, the general concepts apply to using Twitter for professional purposes.
The Twitter account that you created in the Getting Started section should be considered a "work" account. If you want to connect with friends and family and follow your personal interests, you can create a personal Twitter account, too, but when you tweet from your work Twitter account, you are tweeting as a representative of the UC Second Life Project. This does mean that any tweets you send from your work account should be professionally appropriate (no profanity, etc.) but it does not mean that the only thing you can tweet about is Second Life or your work. The point is to increase your informational awareness about virtual worlds, Second Life, Opensim, Unity3D, Kinect, Augmented Reality, and technology generally, as well as expanding your professional network of colleagues and other developers working in this space. Conversation is okay! Just keep in mind that your conversation is public and you're speaking as a member of our team.
Examples of things you should tweet about:
What you are working on right now
Links to good tutorials or resources you find
Links to good articles, videos, or other media about virtual worlds, the metaverse, or related technology
Questions or problems you've solved in your day-to-day work that might help someone else
System issues in-world
Updates about the UCSIM Team
Example of things you should not tweet about:
Complaints about user support issues or any person, customer, or client we serve
Complaints about your job or your coworkers
Personal interests not generally related to virtual worlds, the metaverse, or related technology
Use good judgment and always remember that your tweets will be read not just by your supervisor, but also your supervisor's boss, and maybe even his or her boss! (Yes, they are all on Twitter!)
First, fill out the profile information for your Twitter account so other users will know who you are and that you are affiliated with the UC Second Life Project.
Log into your Twitter account (at http://twitter.com/yourtwitterusername) and navigate to the Settings > Profile tab to edit your profile. Add the following items:
Picture: Upload a thumbnail picture of your avatar from Second Life or Opensim.
Bio: Your bio should include that you work for the UCSIM Team in addition to other relevant things you wish to share.
Examples of good bios:
Love Android, mesh, and cats. Developer for the University of Cincinnati UCSIM Team.
CompSci major and designer for the UCSIM Team.
Again, use good judgement!
Setting Up Twitter Lists
Twitter Lists allow you to categorize accounts you follow by topic so you can quickly see what everyone on a particular list is saying. Following are some suggested lists for you to create and accounts to follow to help you get started, but over time you may want to create your own lists, too.
View the How to Use Twitter Lists page and then create the lists below, follow the users listed, and add each user to the appropriate list.
Remember, these are just suggestions to help you get started. If you find that a particular person or Twitter account is not helpful, you can always unfollow that user later, but for now, go ahead and populate your lists with these suggested accounts.
Twitter List - UCSIM Team
Visit the UC Second Life Team wiki Work Schedules page to find the current list of team members using Twitter and follow their accounts. Don't forget to follow the main account for the project - http://twitter.com/ucsecondlife - too!
Twitter List - Second Life
This list includes residents of Second Life who have popular blogs, websites, or services that you may find interesting, as well as Second Life and other news sites.
This should give you a good start understanding what Twitter is and how it can be useful in a professional environment. From here, you should continue to customize your Twitter account, following people and services that tweet information useful to you, and posting daily updates about your own work, learning about Second Life.
Chapter 2: Office Procedures - Using Twitter
Update: Team members are no longer required to create a work Twitter account if you already have a personal Twitter account, and some of the Second Life specific instructions no longer apply. However, it's good to review the general information provided below, and if you have questions about using Twitter, please see your supervisor.
What is Twitter?
If you've used Instant Messaging (IM) or Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging before, Twitter's format should be relatively familiar. You have 140 characters to send an instant message to the world and whoever is "following" you. Unlike Facebook and other social media services that require someone to confirm your connection, Twitter is not symmetrical. You can "follow" (or subscribe) to any other Twitter user, even if he or she does not follow you back. Likewise, someone can "follow" you to see your Twitter updates (known as "tweets') even if you do not follow that person back. This simple interface and simple method of communicating has created a powerful network of news and information sharing.
This video gives an overview of why Twitter is useful, and although it describes use from a personal use perspective, the general concepts apply to using Twitter for professional purposes.
For more information about basic Twitter user interface questions, see the Twitter Basics page and read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Using Twitter for the UCSIM Team
The Twitter account that you created in the Getting Started section should be considered a "work" account. If you want to connect with friends and family and follow your personal interests, you can create a personal Twitter account, too, but when you tweet from your work Twitter account, you are tweeting as a representative of the UC Second Life Project. This does mean that any tweets you send from your work account should be professionally appropriate (no profanity, etc.) but it does not mean that the only thing you can tweet about is Second Life or your work. The point is to increase your informational awareness about virtual worlds, Second Life, Opensim, Unity3D, Kinect, Augmented Reality, and technology generally, as well as expanding your professional network of colleagues and other developers working in this space. Conversation is okay! Just keep in mind that your conversation is public and you're speaking as a member of our team.
Examples of things you should tweet about:
Example of things you should not tweet about:
Use good judgment and always remember that your tweets will be read not just by your supervisor, but also your supervisor's boss, and maybe even his or her boss! (Yes, they are all on Twitter!)
Review the University of Cincinnati's Social Media Guidelines to understand the university's policies on using technologies like Twitter, and to view the list of UC departments that use social media.
Create Your Twitter Profile
First, fill out the profile information for your Twitter account so other users will know who you are and that you are affiliated with the UC Second Life Project.
Log into your Twitter account (at http://twitter.com/yourtwitterusername) and navigate to the Settings > Profile tab to edit your profile. Add the following items:
Examples of good bios:
Love Android, mesh, and cats. Developer for the University of Cincinnati UCSIM Team.
CompSci major and designer for the UCSIM Team.
Again, use good judgement!
Setting Up Twitter Lists
Twitter Lists allow you to categorize accounts you follow by topic so you can quickly see what everyone on a particular list is saying. Following are some suggested lists for you to create and accounts to follow to help you get started, but over time you may want to create your own lists, too.
View the How to Use Twitter Lists page and then create the lists below, follow the users listed, and add each user to the appropriate list.
Remember, these are just suggestions to help you get started. If you find that a particular person or Twitter account is not helpful, you can always unfollow that user later, but for now, go ahead and populate your lists with these suggested accounts.
Twitter List - UCSIM Team
Visit the UC Second Life Team wiki Work Schedules page to find the current list of team members using Twitter and follow their accounts. Don't forget to follow the main account for the project - http://twitter.com/ucsecondlife - too!Twitter List - Second Life
This list includes residents of Second Life who have popular blogs, websites, or services that you may find interesting, as well as Second Life and other news sites.People
http://twitter.com/malburns
http://twitter.com/lkalif
http://twitter.com/ReedSteamroller
http://twitter.com/gracemcdunnough
http://twitter.com/taterunino
http://twitter.com/GwynethLlewelyn
http://twitter.com/slhamlet
http://twitter.com/dusanwriter
http://twitter.com/paisleybeebe
http://twitter.com/ordinal
http://twitter.com/Mixed_Realities
http://twitter.com/draxtor
Companies, Services, Updates
http://twitter.com/TreetTV
http://twitter.com/RezzedTV
http://twitter.com/MetaverseTV
http://twitter.com/SLurl
http://twitter.com/Metanomics
http://twitter.com/LindenWatch
Twitter List - Linden Lab
This list includes official Linden Lab accounts as well as employees of Linden Lab.http://twitter.com/secondlife
http://twitter.com/SLGridStatus
http://twitter.com/workinginworld
http://twitter.com/learninginworld
http://twitter.com/philiplinden
http://twitter.com/BlondinLinden
http://twitter.com/torley
Twitter List - Metaverse
These are users or services who frequently tweet about virtual worlds other than Second Life, related technologies, and the metaverse more broadly.http://twitter.com/MariaKorolov
http://twitter.com/metaversewire
http://twitter.com/Dr_Manhattan
http://twitter.com/RobinG2
http://twitter.com/opensim
http://twitter.com/open_simulator
http://twitter.com/Metanomics
http://twitter.com/rezzable
http://twitter.com/bluemarsonline
http://twitter.com/twinity
http://twitter.com/Kaneva
http://twitter.com/ReactionGrid
http://twitter.com/augmentreality
Twitter List - Social Media News
http://twitter.com/mashablehttp://twitter.com/rww
http://twitter.com/techcrunch
http://twitter.com/Scobleizer
http://twitter.com/smartertech
http://twitter.com/EFF
This should give you a good start understanding what Twitter is and how it can be useful in a professional environment. From here, you should continue to customize your Twitter account, following people and services that tweet information useful to you, and posting daily updates about your own work, learning about Second Life.
Continue to Chapter 2: Office Procedures - Using Skype